It was still a bit bouncy aboard today, so I stuck to the static bike in the gym, rather than risk death on the treadmill. I’d decided to do a more structured workout, so did 30 minutes at an average of 177 watts, covering 14.75 km. I really need to get better, Sa Collebra, on our trip to Majorca in April is going to kill me at this rate. A shower later and a quick look at my watch, I realised it was 08:20 and I’d not had breakfast yet. With fencing classes at 08:45 I really needed to get

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We managed one more drink in the Commodore Club before heading off to get ready for dinner. Jane had a Marguarita and I reverted to the Doombar, a much nicer pint. We were upstairs in the Britannia, and having already recc’ed our table I was able to put our hostess right when she tried to put us on a table for eight. Surprisingly all ten of our dinner companions were there for the first night, we are usually missing a couple through tiredness. Dinner was a very chatty affair, with all the introductions, it looks like it’s going to be

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I had a good night’s sleep, but Jane was complaining that it was a bit bump in the night, I never noticed. I awoke just before my alarm at 06:40, got dressed in my cycling gear and off to the gym to sweat. I’d not expected to use the treadmill, it’s too dangerous when the sea is anything except a millpond. I was hoping there would be a Wattbike or similar to train on, but disappointingly there were only Technogym static bikes, which are pretty good, but have no connectivity to my Garmin, so I can’t properly record my workout

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After the choir, we headed back to the room for a rest, Jane was still feeling a bit rough, in keeping with the sea state. It was looking like our final visit to the Commodore Club wasn’t going to happen. That Captain had promised that once in the English Channel, the sea would calm down. It didn’t seem to. So we rested until it was time to get ready for dinner. When I was all clean and shiney we went to meet Pat and Giana for one last trivia quiz in the Red Lion pub, stopping only to place all

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The skipper’s rush to beat the storm across the Bay of Biscay seems to have failed. We’re bouncing along merrily in the teeth of a gale. Winds of 60+ miles per hour, and 3 1/2 metre waves. All very exciting if you don’t suffer from motion sickness. Unfortunately Jane is not feeling top tippy, the wrist bands from yesterday’s shopping trip don’t seem to be having the desired effect. I was sent to breakfast alone in the Lido, with orders for a cup of tea and a toasted bacon bagel. I got up to deck 9 to find my route

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We only had the one drink in the Commodore Club before heading down to the stateroom to get ready for dinner. We were going to meet Pat and Giana in the Red Lion for the wipeout quiz at quarter to eight. We weren’t successful in our endeavours, getting eight out of twelve questions correct, the same as the eventual winners, but failing miserably on the  wipeout question. Our winning streak had com to an end. It was time for dinner and as is traditional on the final formal night, there was the parade of the chef’s, where all the catering

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Jane had a particularly bad night last night. Being a lady of a certain age, she’s been experiencing”power surges” which has been disrupting her sleep quite badly. This coupled with the lively seas means she’s very tired this morning. I was late getting up, my knackered Achilles, means no running and there’s no fencing today so I didn’t stir until after 9am. After a shower, I headed up to the Lido for breakfast, with orders of bring me something nice, and a cup of tea following me out of the door. I had a freshly made ham and mushroom omelette

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We had arranged to meet up with Pat and Giana for the quiz again tonight in the Golden Lion pub. We had got ready very early, so ended up having a look at the sale items racked up outside the ladies boutique on deck 3. Jane saw a pair of trousers she liked, but at 195 USD they were a bit tasty for me. She the saw another set that she liked, and this time they were more to my liking at 42 USD, so she went to try them on. The boutique doesn’t have a changing room, so she

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I woke a little before my alarm this morning so was ready for it when it went off at 06.50. Jane was telling me to get back in bed while I was getting ready for the gym, but as this might be the last chance I get for a run I was determined to go. Once we past Gibraltar tonight we’ll be in the Atlantic, and if we have “Sea State lumpy” running on the treadmill might become problematic. As it turned out I needn’t have worried about running on the next few days. I was just jogging through 4.5km

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We didn’t hang around in the Commodore Club for too long, leaving well before the 6pm dress code cut-off. It’s the Captain’s cocktail party for the CWC members as well as being the Masquerade Ball, so tonight was a formal night. I was in the white tux, as I’d popped a button on my black tux jacket, and not having packed a sewing kit, wasn’t in a position to repair it. We headed down to the Queen’s room for cocktails, when we saw Giana and Pat in the Golden Lion, so we made a detour to say hello and ended

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